Who's visiting?

Cigar Reviews

Final Blend Churchill

I feel compelled to review this ‘diamond in the rough’ because I've read mixed reviews of it. But I will tell you, at the onset, that I'm a fan of this newcomer to the industry.

On first inspection, I notice a chocolate-colored outer leaf with tiny veins and seams that make you look twice to find them. From what I can tell, the double cap is well applied, and I give it a bullet cut so as not to test it.

Pre-toasting, the leaf gives off a slight earth aroma, while the foot emits a combination scent of mild earth and hay. Upon toasting, I immediately pick up roasted coffee. The overall aroma is pleasant and mild.

The first few draws display just the right amount of resistance. Smoke is ample, and the cigar feels good in hand. This particular vitola has been resting in my humidor for five months, and I've paired it with a black coffee.

Gurkha 125th Anniversary

Written by Alan (The Cigar Savant) Friedman |

Editor’s Note: Each week, our friends at the Smooth Draws Radio Show, based in Atlanta, GA, do a review of ‘The Cigar of the Week’ on their radio show, which can be heard Saturday mornings on AM1230 ESPN the Fan 2 (WFOM radio) from 9AM to 11AM. That review is printed (in its entirety) here on Cigarweekly.com, usually on the Monday following its broadcast.

In 1887, India was under British colonial rule. During that era, colonial soldiers began smoking and enjoying cigars made from local tobacco. The British called these cigars Gurkhas, naming them after legendary Nepalese fighters who used the khukuri – a forward curving Nepalese knife.

Fast forward to 1989, when Kaizad Hansotia (while in India) bought a Portuguese cigar roller’s entire stock and resurrected the name Gurkha. At the 2012 IPCPR Convention and Trade Show, the Gurkha 125th Anniversary was introduced. Note that the 125th Anniversary designation does not represent the company’s 125 years in business; it simply recognizes the attachment the firm’s cigars have to the name Gurkha (going back to 1887).

My inspection begins with a look-over of the wrapper, which reveals a chocolate brown color as well as tight and invisible seams. I find a couple of medium but prominent veins. The cigar is firm, with absolutely no soft spots. I also see a slight tooth on the wrapper.

Cold aroma

Sniffing along the wrapper, I sense a very faint coffee note, and not much else. The foot has a good bit more to offer. Here, raisin, grape, sweet hay, brown sugar and moss come together surprisingly well, and the combination of scents actually gives me some promise on how good this cigar might be.

Looking over this darker chocolate-colored wrapper, I notice one medium-sized prominent vein. The surface is slightly toothy, and there are some visible seams. Construction on this cigar is okay, but I am used to seeing better from Punch – and even on other cigars in the line and year.

Cold aroma

Along the wrapper, I take a few passes with the ole sniffer, and find notes of grass, hay, leather and cocoa. The foot offers a bit more, with scents of raisin, cinnamon, sweet hay, cocoa and a slight tobacco note evident.

Cubanacan Percy Ray 1928

Written by Alan Friedman (The Cigar Savant) |

Editor’s Note: Each week, our friends at the Smooth Draws Radio Show, based in Atlanta, GA, do a review of ‘The Cigar of the Week’ on their radio show, which can be heard Saturday mornings on AM1230 ESPN the Fan 2 (WFOM radio) from 9AM to 11AM. That review is printed (in its entirety) here on Cigarweekly.com, usually on the Monday following its broadcast.

The Smooth Draws Radio Show Pick of the Week

THE CIGAR

As our ‘Premium Cigars of Georgia’ cigar of the week, we’ve selected The Cubanacan Percy Ray 1928 by Nate McIntyre.

BACK STORY

Many of us in the cigar industry (and many more cigar enthusiasts) know Nate McIntyre from his presence in the retail and wholesale cigar sectors. From shop keeper to national sales manager, Nate has been a personable professional. In September of 2015, Nate announced, as Eastern U.S. Sales Manager for Cubanacan, that he would be branching out with his own cigar line – an annual limited edition, marketed under the Percy Ray Cigars banner, which would pay tribute to his grandfather.

Nate has stated that his goal with Percy Ray Cigars is simply to say thank you, give his grandfather (Percy Ray McIntyre) the honor to which he is due, and perhaps inspire other people to celebrate the same people in their lives.

Perdomo Factory Tour Blend Series Sun Grown

Written by Alan (The Cigar Savant) Friedman |

Editor’s Note: Each week, our friends at the Smooth Draws Radio Show, based in Atlanta, GA, do a review of ‘The Cigar of the Week’ on their radio show, which can be heard Saturday mornings on AM1230 ESPN the Fan 2 (WFOM radio) from 9AM to 11AM. That review is printed (in its entirety) here on Cigarweekly.com, usually on the Monday following its broadcast.

The Smooth Draws Radio Show Pick of the Week

THE CIGAR

As our ‘Premium Cigars of Georgia’ cigar of the week, we’ve selected the Perdomo Factory Tour Blend Series Sun Grown.

BACK STORY

Truly, you will never have a higher appreciation for cigars then after having experienced a factory tour. And many a cigar enthusiast has travelled (or will eventually travel) to a tobacco producing country to take in a cigar factory tour.

Perdomo has gained a reputation as one of a handful of companies offering tours of its factory, by welcoming consumers and retailers from all around the world to its facilities in Nicaragua.

The Factory Tour Blend was inspired by Perdomo’s fifteen years of factory tours. The company says that Aristides Garcia, one of the factory’s long time managers, would roll special cigars for guests who toured the Nicaraguan factory. And now that special blend is being made available to everyone.

Four Kicks Black Belt Buckle Corona Gorda

Written by Jeff Slatton (jefslat) |

This time around, Cigar Weekly's Jeff Slatton assesses the merits (and characteristics) of the Four Kicks Black Belt Buckle Corona Gorda, which has been provided for review by Famous Smoke Shop. Thanks goes out to the folks at FSS for their generosity.

Size: 5 5/8 inches by 46 ring gauge

Country of origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper color: Maduro

Wrapper origin: Connecticut

Wrapper leaf: Broadleaf

Initial impressions

The rich, fragrant Maduro wrapper displays some veins, while the finger-feel indicates a fairly solid bunch. I suffer through a slightly messy clip, but the draw seems good.

Flatiron Maduro

If you weren't born in New York City, here's the answer to the origin of the moniker ‘Flatiron’. Apparently, in New York City, there exists a triangular, 22-story, steel-framed building located in the borough of Manhattan. This building was considered a groundbreaking skyscraper upon its completion in 1902. It sits on a triangular block formed by three streets. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name ‘Flatiron’ derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.

The building, which has been called one of the world's most iconic skyscrapers, is a quintessential symbol of New York City. The neighborhood around it is called the Flatiron District, after its signature building.

The Flatiron Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1966, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

Under the shadows of this iconic structure, Antonio Genaro Martinez (1947-2002), who was known to everyone as Don Antonio, opened a storefront in 1974 – Martinez Cigars. This enterprise produced lines of premium handmade cigars.

Martinez was “an immigrant from the tiny town of Tamboríl in the Dominican Republic, and brought with him a vast wealth of knowledge and incredible talent for making some of the finest cigars imaginable”.

The Flatiron series is part of the firm’s line of premium handmade cigars, and is aptly named after the aforementioned building and neighborhood.

Kristoff Galerones Series DR4

Written by Alan Friedman (The Cigar Savant) |

Editor’s Note: Each week, our friends at the Smooth Draws Radio Show, based in Atlanta, GA, do a review of ‘The Cigar of the Week’ on their radio show, which can be heard Saturday mornings on AM1230 ESPN the Fan 2 (WFOM radio) from 9AM to 11AM. That review is printed (in its entirety) here on Cigarweekly.com, usually on the Monday following its broadcast.

The Smooth Draws Radio Show Pick of the Week

THE CIGAR

This time around, we’ve selected the Kristoff Galerones Series DR4 as our cigar pick of the week.

BACK STORY

The Kristoff Galerones Series, which includes the DR4, was unveiled at the 2013 IPCPR trade show. Glen Case, the brand owner, wanted to create a new core line of cigars that would mark a new chapter in the company’s history. This line would give Kristoff Cigars what Glen Case called “a new look, a new flavor and a new level”.

For the Galerones Series, Kristoff creates cigars that have a big flavor component, as opposed to a strength-based nature. The DR4 blends flavorful Connecticut tobacco, and is aimed at the beginner as well as the experienced smoker. It derives its name from the fillers, as there are four distinct Dominican Habano Cuban seed tobaccos in the filler.

La Galera Connecticut

Written by Alan (The Cigar Savant) Friedman |

Editor’s Note: Each week, our friends at the Smooth Draws Radio Show, based in Atlanta, GA, do a review of ‘The Cigar of the Week’ on their radio show, which can be heard Saturday mornings on AM1230 ESPN the Fan 2 (WFOM radio) from 9AM to 11AM. That review is printed (in its entirety) here on Cigarweekly.com, usually on the Monday following its broadcast.

The Smooth Draws Radio Show Pick of the Week

THE CIGAR

As our Premium Cigars of Georgia ‘cigar of the week’, we’ve selected The La Galera Connecticut by Indian Head Cigars.

BACK STORY

The La Galera Connecticut comes to us from José ‘Jochy’ Blanco’s Tabacalera Palma, which traces its origins back to the mid-19th-Century, when a Spanish citizen named José Manuel Blanco Lozada moved to the Dominican Republic to specialize in the trades of tropical fruits and tobacco.

My cigar review ritual begins by looking at the overall appearance of this cigar. It is a very aesthetically pleasing cigar. The dark chocolate Maduro wrapper is almost Oscuro looking. I observe two prominent (yet small) veins, and seams that are slightly visible but tight. I see no blemishes, and note the firmness of the cigar, which has only one soft spot near the beginning of the last third. Overall, the construction is done very well.

Cold aroma

Holding the cigar under my nose, I pick up some cocoa and tobacco off the wrapper. The foot brings still more scents – coffee with cream, toffee, caramel, cinnamon, smoke and a slight raisin note, all coming together very nicely.